Big Idea:
Students read traditional folktales with a new eye. They look for lessons that can be applied to real life.

I told students we were going learn about a type of story that was passed along by mouth from generation to generation called folktales. I explained the characteristics of folktales, which I had written on a poster and posted in front of the class. The poster served as a visual reference for students. I told students these types of stories can have a moral, or lesson. A moral is a lesson learned from a story. I told students we were also going to learn how to identify the moral.

I displayed the folktale, Three Billy Goats Gruff, on the document camera and read it aloud. Students followed along with their copy. After I read it, we identified the characteristics of the story as a folktale. It was long ago, there were three goats, there was a repeating phrase, good characters versus an evil character, and a happy ending.

Next, I modeled completing the graphic organizer, which included the title, moral, and text evidence. I displayed it on the document camera so that all students could see. I identified the moral of the story by asking, “What can human beings learn from this story?” Finally, I wrote the moral and highlighted evidence from the text to support my answer.

After I modeled for students, I guided them through reading another folktale, identifying its characteristics and the moral, and completing the graphic organizer.

Resources

For independent practice, students read a different folktale. They worked with a partner to identify the moral and complete the graphic organizer. Allowing students to work cooperatively gives them the opportunity to share ideas and engage in academic conversations surrounding the text. I walked around the room as students worked, providing assistance as needed.

Big Idea:
In this lesson, students will be introduced to the genre of folktales and gain an understanding of the basic components of a folktale, as well as how the illustrations in a text can contribute to characters, setting, mood, etc.